Every parent tries their hardest to give their child a healthy and nutritious school lunch. But sometimes what we think is healthy, is not necessarily that great! And other times, there may be an even healthier alternative that you could pop into your child’s lunchbox instead. So we’ve put together a list of some healthy lunchbox swaps that are easy to do and in some cases, will even save you money too!

Replace butter with avocado

Rather than spreading butter on your little ones sandwich, use avocado instead. It still has the same creamy flavour, but is so much healthier!

Image: Two Peas And Their Pod

Replace dried fruit with fresh fruit

Dried fruits pack a hefty punch when it comes to sugar and it’s also easy to overeat, for example: eating a small packet of sultanas is equivalent to eating a huge bunch of grapes! Pack fresh fruit which is lower in calories and higher in fibre into your child’s lunchbox.

Image: Rachel Schultz

Replace flavoured yoghurt for natural or greek yoghurt

We all know that kids love the super-sweet flavoured yoghurts you can buy at the supermarket, but even the fruit varieties are packed with sugar. Buy greek or natural yoghurt instead and sweeten with a little honey until your child becomes used to the taste.

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Replace chips with homemade pita crisps

Buying a multi-pack of potato chips at the supermarket seems like a quick and easy solution to filling up a lunchbox, but with the increase in childhood obesity, not to mention the ridiculous amounts of additives and preservatives that are put into chips, they’re really not a great option at all. Swap a packet of chips with some homemade pita crisps – simply bake pita bread in the oven until it’s nice and crispy and break into pieces – so easy and yum!

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Replace bread with pita bread

For added nutrition, make your child a pita bread sandwich in place of white bread. If you can’t get them to swap to pita bread, then try using wholemeal or multigrain bread instead.

Image: Yummy Healthy Easy

Replace juice and cordial with water

Many schools have already started to bring in a ‘water-only’ rule. Fruit juices and cordials are so jam-packed with sugar, it’s just ridiculous! And certainly not what you’re child needs to keep them focused and hydrated throughout the day. Buy a cool drink bottle and encourage them to refill it throughout the day.

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Replace a sugar-filled bar with a muesli bar

While muesli bars still contain quite a lot of sugar, more and more brands are bringing out healthier alternatives. Check out the ingredients on the muesli bar packets and choose one that is low in sugar and doesn’t contain additives or preservatives. Or better yet, make your own healthy muesli bars – that way you know exactly what’s going into them!

Image: Primal Bites Blog

Cut out the butter

When you’re making your child a sandwich or wrap, either use avocado or peanut butter as an alternative spread. Many of us use butter in addition to peanut butter on a sandwich – and you definitely don’t need it. Peanut butter is more than enough on it’s own! Aim for a natural peanut butter that contains only peanuts in the ingredients.

Image: Brown Eyes Baker

Replace cream cheese with hummus

When we send along vegetable sticks with cream cheese, we think we’re doing the right thing. But a much better alternative is a homemade batch of hummus – perfect for dunking in those vegetable sticks!

Image: Hint Of Joes

What other healthy swaps do you like to use in your child’s lunchbox?